BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Owls return to the road this weekend when Florida Atlantic University football travels to Lafayette, Ind. for a meeting with Purdue. Kickoff between the two schools, who will be meeting for the first time, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be aired on BTN. Fans also may listen to the game on Fox Sports 640 AM South Florida.
When FAU faces off against Purdue, there are several keys to the game that the Owls worked diligently upon. The most specific was defensive third down conversion. Last week, the Owls allowed UCF to convert several key third downs, enabling the Knights to extend drives. The team enters this week’s game ranked No. 89 in third down conversion defense and holds a .667 fourth down defensive conversion rate. Both were Wednesday’s practice focus.
One thing the defense has done well all season long is playing with the mentality of next man up. One such player is Jacob Merrifield, who replaced Evan Anderson at none tackle. On the season, Merrifield has six tackles, including a three-yard TFL. Merrifield also recorded a red zone fumble recovery versus UCF. Another is Dwight Toombs, who has 21 tackles, including an assist on a TFL, and returned an interception to the one versus UCF.
QUOTABLE
Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Todd Orlando
On the defensive performance against UCF
“The last game really came down to third down. We had 18 opportunities on third down and we only won five of them. That’s today’s emphasis. We have to get better at it. Any time you go out and you’re playing somebody that runs pace, and you can’t get off of the football field, it’s going to be a long day. We understand it. We looked at it schematically and we looked at it in terms of finishing plays. We also went 0-2 on fourth down. They’re huge in trying to get the ball back to our offense so they can go out there and score points. We have to do a much better job and that starts with our Wednesday’s practices (which) are all about tight red zone and third down.”
On Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell
“From my days when I was at Texas, he reminds me of Mason Rudolph. He can pull the pin on balls. He is so impressive in terms of just throwing balls on time. If you slow down the film and you watch a receiver, he’s in the second step of his breakout to his route, and the ball is already thrown. It’s just so precise. He has beaten some coverages; he has beaten some things that a normal guy shouldn’t be able to do. He’s been so impressive. The thing I like about him more than anything else is how even-keeled he is. Even when he throws a great ball, he just goes up there and hugs a lineman. Even when he gets sacked, he doesn’t go crazy, if he makes a bad throw, he just looks at himself a little bit and says I have to get going. Those are the qualities of a really good QB, a guy that can throw the ball in rhythm and timing, but a guy that never gets rattled and that’s what you see out there with him.?
On Redshirt Sophomore Safety Dwight Toombs II stepping up with Teja Young out
“He’s done it in practice. The guys that have been around here, they continue to see. I think (Safeties Coach Derrick Gibson) has done a really good job of just bringing him along, and I think he’s getting comfortable for his new role. Last year, a lot of these guys were 10 rep guys and they played maybe mop up time at the end of the game, but now I think they’re starting to understand how to play 50/60 snaps. He played really well. He was really impressive. He communicated well. He’s tackling very well, and then he had a very nice pick in the third quarter.”
On Purdue WR Charlie Jones and other offensive players
“He’s so impressive. He’s so savvy. He’s slick with his routes. He’s quick. If you put the ball in a five-yard radius, it’s caught. He’s outstanding, tight ends are outstanding, they have another slot receiver, he’s outstanding and a quarterback that can pop it to each of them. It’s one of those games that creates matchup issues, but from our standpoint, a lot to get better at. This environment is going to be cool for our guys. It’s a night game, I think temperature will probably be around 65, there’ll be a lot of juice, I think our guys will be fired up to play.”
On the defensive line with Evan Anderson out
“(It’s) solid. (Jacob) Merrifield is always in the spot he’s supposed to be at, Lattrell (Jean)’s the same way. They love football, they care about it, they work at it all the time. If you ask KP (D-line coach Kevin Patrick) the same thing, a lot of those guys have really stepped up to try to fill that void and they’re playing a lot more plays than they have played in the past.”
Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Lineman Latrell Jean
On the challenge of building chemistry while being the only d-lineman to start all four games
“It hasn’t been anything crazy, I’m really just trying to stay consistent and keep myself healthy, make sure that the d-line is keeping themselves healthy and doing what we can to win the game every week.”
On the progress of Jacob Merrifield
“From the camp he had to now, his progression from how he’s been doing is good. He plays hard every play. He’s running to the ball. He’s making plays on Saturday. He’s doing what he needs to do. He has stepped up when you need him to, and he’s been doing great so far with it.”
On the defensive line without Evan Anderson
“Obviously Evan is a big factor in our d-line room, but we have a lot of depth on the d-line this year and a lot of players that can play. We miss Evan, but we’re not missing a beat. If I have to go to nose, I’ll play nose. I’m going to do what I need to do. Keem Green is going to do what he needs to do. We miss Evan, but we have to keep doing what we have to do.”
On facing Purdue
“It’s another game. I don’t look at it like we’re playing a Big Ten school or a power five. They play football just like we do. We put on our cleats and shoulder pads the same. We just are going to see who can go out there and play better football.”
Junior Cornerback “Smoke Romain Mungin
On facing Purdue
“Purdue is a great team on film. We see they have a lot of key players. For us as a defense, we’re going to focus on the main parts of it and winning on third downs. If we win on third downs, we can stop them. If we shut their key players down, we’ll do a great job towards winning the game.”
On the team recovering from the loss against UCF
“We didn’t stop them as much on third downs or fourth downs. Right there, we have to fix that. If we did that, we would have had a better chance of winning. After the loss, we just had to come in as a team and talk about it and focus on next week.”
On Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell
“He knows how to throw the ball. He knows how to stay in the pocket consistently. He’s not scared to get hit while throwing the ball. As corners and DBs, we just need to focus on sticking on our receiver as long as possible for our d-line to get there.”
On Purdue WR Charlie Jones
“If we win our one-on-one battles with him, it’ll be an easy job for the DBs, but I feel like every DB needs to come with the aspect of locking down every wide receiver no matter what.”
On building off of three takeaways last weekend
“We always have to improve and build off of that, so every game we try to get three takeaways no matter what. Last week, we did that so this week will be better for us to get three more takeaways and help the offense out.”
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
FAU Coaches Radio Show
For free mobile listening of all game broadcasts and coaches shows, FAU fans can download the Varsity Network app for iPhone or Android. The app features instant access to free gameday audio streams and the ability for fans to receive push notifications to remind them of games starting or upcoming audio broadcasts. Local fans can tune in to Hubbard Radio (Fox Sports South Florida 640 AM) to follow the team.
FAU Television Inside the Owls Burrow
This week’s show will include a sit down with Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart. Show host and producer Frank Forte and Taggart will review last week’s game versus UCF and will look ahead to this week’s contest at Purdue. The show will also feature tight end Austin Evans and earning a scholarship. Latrell Jean will be featured in “Pads Off” plus tight end and special teams coach Chad Lunsford will go one-on-one with Forte. As a programing note: the show will air on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. on Bally Sports Florida and will re-air Saturday morning at 7 a.m. due to live tennis programming that will air in the Owls’ normal Saturday time slot.
TICKETS
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